My good friend Carolyn has a Pit Bull mix named Journey. That is her with the frog leg pose to the left. She adopted Journey about 3 years ago and she adores her. She and a friend would take Journey to the dog park a few times a week and everything was peachy. Recently Carolyn’s friend has not been going with her and Carolyn is experiencing extreme anxiety when taking Journey to the park. She is afraid that Journey will get in a tussle with another dog and react too aggressively. This has a lot to do with Journey’s Pit Bull roots and the way people unconsciously react to Journey when they meet her. Now, I have a dog and when my dog barks or even growls at another dog I often think that my dog can take care of herself. I bring this up because I think Pit Bulls sometimes get a bad rap.
While it is true that Pit Bulls caused more deaths that any other dog breed: In the 12-year period of 2005 through 2016, canines killed 392 Americans. Pit Bulls contributed to 65% (254) of these deaths, that is .001% of all deaths in the US. More people die, 7%, from not wearing their seat belts. The statics are higher than any other dog, but it doesn’t seem to be a significant enough number to condemn the 3-5 million dogs in the US. It must also be pointed out that many dogs are identified as Pit Bulls that may be mixed breed. First, let’s set the record straight, the Pit Bull is not an official breed. The United Kennel Club lists American Staffordshire Terriers, Staffordshire Bull Terriers, and American Pit Bull Terriers as recognized breeds. All three of these animals have a similar look and tend to be referred to as Pit Bulls. Each breed of dog has its’ own personality. For the sake of this blog, I’ll refer to these three dogs as well as dogs mixed with “Pit Bulls” as Pit Bull. Pit Bulls can be playful, good with kids, eager to please, loyal and devoted. They are also confident, fearless, brave, and can be aggressive. All dogs were bread to serve a purpose. Old English Sheep Dog herd, my dog Luna is supposed to flush fowl out of hiding for hunters, and Labrador Retrievers are, well retrievers. Even lap dogs were bread to be lap dogs. The ASPCA says: Today's Pit Bull is a descendant of the original English bull-baiting dog—a dog that was bred to bite and hold bulls, bears and other large animals around the face and head. When baiting large animals was outlawed in the 1800s, people turned instead to fighting their dogs against each other. (ASPCA, Retrieved from: https://www.aspca.org/about-us/aspca-policy-and-position-statements/position-statement-pit-bulls) This is where the pit bull gets some of its’ notoriety. Pit Bulls were bred to fight and that may make them “more likely than other breeds to fight with dogs…[but] It doesn’t mean that they can’t be around other dogs or that they’re unpredictably aggressive” (ASPCA, 2018). Pit Bull were also bred to be companions and even in cases where they were used as fighters, aggression toward people was typically not tolerated because the dogs were routinely around people to fight. You might as well pen a grey wolf if you aren’t going to monitor and train behavior. Socialization and contact is key with all dogs. As puppies, socialization teaches a dog how to interact, play and communicate with other dogs, people and sometimes even cats. Dogs that are routinely around other dogs as they grow up are less likely to show aggression. Dogs are a lot like people. If you take a child and keep him away from other children and you ignore him, he is more likely to act out. We had a neighbor who had a Pit Bull puppy and that neighbor wouldn’t let our dog play with her. He kept the dog chained outside for long periods of time and we never saw him show the dog affection, walk the dog or take the dog to the dog park. I don’t know how the dog turned out, but I often wondered if that neighbor was deliberately trying to create a mean dog through lack of connection. …dogs that are chained outside and isolated from positive human interaction are more likely to bite people than dogs that are integrated into our homes. Pit Bull type dogs that find themselves in these conditions may be at greater risk for developing aggressive behavior.(ASPCA, Retrieved from: https://www.aspca.org/about-us/aspca-policy-and-position-statements/position-statement-pit-bulls) I often say that the dog isn’t bad, the owner is bad. People make their dogs mean. The decision to adopt any dog is a big one. Your responsibility as a dog parent is to socialize, train, play with and give positive attention to your dog. You sign up to exercise them as often as they need (it’s 6+ miles a day for our dog), love them, feed them and take care of them. Dog breeds may have personality traits that were bred into them at one time, but it is truly the responsibility of the owner to understand their breeds good and bad tendencies and make sure that any negative traits are minimized. This responsibility is the same for all dogs big and small. Being a dog parent is a rewarding experience. Pit Bulls are good dogs with amazing qualities and an unfair stigma.
Odd Couples by the Dodo - Facebook 2017
References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, (2017, March 18) Leading Cause of Death Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/leading-causes-of-death.htm DogBite.org,(2017,Feb17) 2016 Dog Bite Fatalities retrieved from https://www.dogsbite.org/dog-bite-statistics-fatalities-2016.php WKRN.COM(Pagan,2018,Feb 5) Retrieved from http://wkrn.com/2018/02/05/special-report-are-pit-bulls-a-dangerous-breed/
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